A North Carolina teenager has died from Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services confirmed. The boy's death occurred Monday, just days after an 8-year-old girl in Louisiana died from a similar infection.
The teenager, whose name and specific location have not been released to protect his family’s privacy, became critically ill in recent days. Health officials are working with federal partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health departments to investigate potential sources of the infection.
Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba that thrives in warm freshwater and can cause a fatal brain infection if it enters the nose. According to the CDC, the infection occurs when the amoeba travels to the brain and destroys brain tissue. It is commonly known as a "brain-eating" amoeba. Health officials emphasize that the infection cannot be contracted by swallowing contaminated water.
While these infections are extremely rare, affecting fewer than 10 people annually in the U.S., they are almost always fatal. Between 1962 and 2024, there were 167 reported cases in the U.S., with only four survivors, according to the CDC.
"While these infections are very rare, this is an important reminder that this amoeba is present in our state and across the U.S.," North Carolina state epidemiologist Zack Moore said in a release last week. "There are steps people can take to reduce their risk of infection while swimming during the warmer months."
Recommended preventative measures include holding one's nose shut when entering warm freshwater or avoiding jumping into water and submerging one's head. Distilled or boiled tap water should be used for nasal rinsing or cleaning sinus passages, as the amoeba has been found in tap water. A woman in Texas died last year after using tap water to rinse her sinuses.
The amoeba thrives in water up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and most U.S. cases occur in the South during July and August.
The North Carolina boy’s death followed that of 8-year-old Lillian Smart, whose family confirmed her death on August 22 from the same infection. She is suspected of contracting the amoeba while swimming in Lake Claiborne in north Louisiana, according to the state's health department.